My first trip, we stayed onsite one night. We only used our Express Pass one day, as traffice caused us to be really late on our arrival day. We then returned later and did a day without a Express Pass later in the week. With Express pass, it was awesome! No waits and we were through quickly. We even did HP early entry and we weren't tired. The day without Express Pass was not as fun. I feel like we mainly waited in lines, which is exhausting. Of course, we went in the crowded summer. I wouldn't do Universal again without Express Pass unless I knew it was a less crowded time of year. I vote for Express Pass!